|
The 1st Annual Luncheon & Silent
Auction:
|
|
Letter from Liz Cooke (R.N at City of Hope)
I have sent this letter in my place. Unfortunately,
I am unable to attend due to family commitments, but
I am delighted to write this letter knowing it will
be read in my place.
Before, I discuss the importance of support
for patients and families during transplant; I want
to take the opportunity to talk about my experience
with Cortney. I knew her for
several years as nurse practitioner who did teaching
for her after her transplant. She often questioned me,
offered me suggestions, and seemed to enjoy our relationship.
She was driven to make a difference. She challenged
ideas regularly, which was like a breath of fresh air
for me. I so enjoyed her energy, love for life, and
strong desire to make a positive contribution to other
people's transplant experience. She also attended the
transplant support group and touched many fellow patients'
lives with her passionate discussion of her organization.
Many patients' commented that she had done more in her
young life than many others, and even themselves.
To review some concepts, an allogeneic
transplant is a transplant from either a family member,
such as a sibling, or an unrelated person often identified
from the transplant registry. If you have not signed
up to be a donor in the National Donor Program, please
consider that possibility. To give another the gift
of life is, in my opinion, is the highest gift. To watch
a patient loose hope for life because there is no person
with a bone marrow to match them is tragic. To watch
a patient enter transplant knowing that a complete stranger
will go through a minor procedure and inconvenience
to give them the chance to live, is nothing short of
miraculous. Patients often feel in awe of their donors.
I have been privileged to work in the field
of transplantation since 1988, and I have the opinion
that short of a natural disaster, this experience is
often the most stressful experience to hit the patient
and family than any other in their lifetime. Of course,
in many cases there is no other choice for treatment
that offers complete cure, and so patients and families
embark on a challenging journey. For most medical treatments
for other conditions, there is a definite "end"
such as recovery from surgery, improvement of symptoms
after drug completion, or treatment of a condition for
a few months followed by success. Life after allogeneic
transplantation can take patients and families on an
uncertain ride that can lead to multiple unplanned admissions,
unexpected complications, and great feelings of uncertainty.
Families scramble for financial resources, childcare,
a sense of routine, and a stable environment. Patients
often find deep fulfillment out of life months and years
later, taking the opportunity, like Cortney,
to make a contribution. Life is seen as more precious,
relationships are more valuable, and desire to make
a difference becomes paramount. While patients sometimes
come to a point of peace with the experience, many spouses
and children still find the experience exhausting, the
suffering of their loved one tough to handle and grief
over changes hard to face.
The
reason why I love Cortney's
idea so much is that it supports the family structure
behind the patient. No experience is in a vacuum, and
families desperately need resources to cushion the suffering
they experience during and after transplantation. Please
consider helping this dream become alive.
|
|
3rd
Annual Luncheon & Silent Auction
Hosted
by Outback Steakhouse of Arcadia
Lunch Includes: bloomin'
onion, caesar salad, sautéed mushrooms, chicken, steak, cheesecake
and beverage
Saturday,
October 11
Outback Steakhouse of Arcadia
166 E. Huntington
Drive
Arcadia, CA
91006
Lunch 11am - 2pm
Silent Auction ends 1:30pm
Tickets
are $30. For information on how to purchase tickets, donate
items to the silent auction, or for any questions please email
info@ccwishfoundation.org
The 2nd
Annual Luncheon & Silent Auction Was a Great Success!!
Sponsored
by:
.jpg)
|
Some Say I'm a
Dreamer...
Cortney Ciccarelli was an
amazing young woman, daughter, sister and friend. She was also a young
woman battling leukemia. On August 26, 2005, at the age of 26, Cortney lost her fight against this terrible disease.
She will be missed often, loved always and her amazing spirit will live
on through the Cortney Ciccarelli Wish
Foundation she created and continues to inspire.
The 1 st Annual Luncheon & Silent Auction Was a Great
Success!!
Letter from Liz Cooke
(R.N at City of Hope)
I have sent this letter in my place. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend
due to family commitments, but I am delighted to write this letter
knowing it will be read in my place. (read more...)
|
|
Why a Dandelion
for the logo??
On Sunday June 5, 2005 The Cortney Ciccarelli Wish Foundation was fortunate
enough to have a a
booth at the National Cancer Survivor's Day at City of Hope. It was a great success and we
really want to thank all of you who contributed to our cause. We also
want to thank everyone that stopped by to check us out and just chat. It
was lovely to meet all of you and share in our commonality of combating
cancer.
We especially want to thank Girl Scout
troop #444 who so graciously donated to our foundation. They were
our first donation ever, and the girls were the sweetest things. They
were the highlight of our day and we seriously can't thank them enough.
Look for a picture of us soon together on the website... we are still
waiting for them to be developed.
I would like to thank Audrey Ciccarelli (my mom) and Jan
Christensen for running the booth with me. We were able to get out about
500 fliers with our foundation's message. I seriously couldn't have done
it without you both. I would also like to thank Jodi Shuben
who was able to get a banner donated and all of the fliers as well. We
really couldn't have done it without her.
All in all I would say it was a wonderful coming out for
our foundation and I only hope that future events can go so smoothly.
Love,
Cortney Ciccarelli
|
|
